The Hindu : Karnataka News : No men left in these villages

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Karnataka

Karnataka

No men left in these villages

Bageshree S.

Women and children say they are tormented by police in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

LIVING ON A MINEFIELD: B. Parthasarathy, member of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission, interacting with women during his visit to mining areas of Chikkanayakanahalli near Tumkur on Thursday.

Bullenahalli (Tumkur District): When the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) team arrived at the small government school at Bullenahalli in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk on Thursday, a large crowd comprising exclusively of women, bombarded them with complaints.

It did not imply that the men had stayed home and allowed women to take the lead. Right now, barring a few who are too old and frail, there are no men left in most households at Bullenahalli and other villages in Chikkanayakanahalli, where intensive iron ore mining is being carried out. While some men have been arrested in connection with the violent incidents during the protest demonstration by local people against mining atop Abbigere Malleshwara Hills on July 24, the rest have fled fearing the police. Women alleged that the police had ill-treated and threatened them and their children.

The KSHRC team, which had come to investigate complaints of atrocities by the police in connivance the miners, heard stories from the women about how their lives had turned topsy-turvy because of mining. While some complained of water table sinking as a result of high-intensity blasts, leaving them with no water to even drink, others said their health was deteriorating on account of mining dust.

Kamalamma, 32, showed her hand covered with black dots because of acute allergy to dust. Yashodamma, another resident, said that it was no longer possible to cultivate land because dust covered everything and there was neither rain nor water left in borewells.

The immediate concern of the women, however, is the safety of the men who have been arrested. The people of villages around the Abbugere hill in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk said the police had “raided houses at random and rounded up men” from Honnebagi, Bullenahalli, Gollarahatti, Manchikatti, Jogihalli, Hosahalli and other villages.

Shivamma, 60, who lives at the foot of the hill, showed this correspondent marks of hacking on her backdoor. “The police tried to break open the door saying my sons are hiding. They took away even the sickle,” she said. The operation followed violence that erupted the previous day when a protest in front of Malleshwara temple on the hill turned violent.

Machinery used for mining operations was gutted. It still remains a mystery as to who did, and the local people stoutly deny any involvement in it. They said that they were nowhere near the site where the machinery was destroyed.

Tumkur Deputy Commissioner C. Somashekhar, who accompanied the team, promised to release money to make drinking water available to the villages.

He said that he would hold regular meetings to ensure that the corpus fund of Rs. 8 crore, accumulated over the years by the “welfare fund” donated by miners, would be used for the right purpose.

The KSHRC team, comprising members R.H. Raddy and B. Parthasarathy, visited the mining sites and the villages around.

They said they would hold investigations and file a report. Forest and revenue officials accompanied the team.

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